On 9/11 everything changed. Or did it?
Immediately following the attacks, Americans seemingly came together, conversations were more civil and religious institutions saw their attendance rise. But within months, we were back to “normal,” increasingly dominated by fear and narrow ideology. Are we destined to live in conflict or can sharing wisdom from both our sacred and secular traditions help break the gridlock and lead to better informed decisions for peace? How can we nurture our children to become engaged citizens and create a more compassionate, pluralistic, civil society? And what role can each of us play?
Arthur Miller, Emmy Award winning moderator
Ralph Singh, convener
Panelists: Karoline Buys, James R. Doty, M.D., Richard A. Ehst, Dr. Noor Gillani,
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, Dr. Stuart A. Kauffman, Rabbi Irwin Kula, Dr. Nina Lynn Meyerhof, Ed.D., R. Gustav Niebuhr, Iyafin Amibelle Olatunji, Carlos Portes, Diane Schenandoah, Dr. Naresh Singh, Asma T. Uddin
Download participant's bios. [PDF]
Learn more at www.wisdomthinkers.org/events.
Biographies
Arthur Miller, moderator: While famous as a brilliant and demanding lawyer and professor, Miller became the first law professor to appear regularly on television, hosting Miller’s Court—the TV show that pioneered making real-life lawyering accessible to a lay audience—from 1979 through 1987. The show created media buzz and led to a 20-year stint as Good Morning America’s legal editor. He has also hosted a weekly show on Court TV, won an Emmy in 1984 for one of three Fred Friendly seminars he moderated for PBS’s 13-part series The Constitution: That Delicate Balance and garnered three American Bar Association Gavel Awards for promoting public understanding of the law.
Ralph Singh, Chair, Wisdom Thinkers Network; Convener: Feels that stories have the power to change the world. That is his life story: from the powerful vision that drew him from New York to the feet of the great spiritual master, His Holiness Baba Virsa Singh, in India at 22 where he became Babaji’s first foreign devotee and still serves as serves as director publications and P.R. for Gobind Sadan; his role in forgiveness and reconciliation following the post 9-11 arson attack on his spiritual community Gobind Sadan, USA; to his Parents’ Choice award winning audio CD, Stories to Light our Way, of sacred and secular wisdom stories, being used by educators and community groups as a way to foster a more compassionate, engaged, pluralistic, civil society.
Karoline Buys, is the International Program Coordinator for Children of the Earth, an NGO that inspires and unites young people world-wide to create a peaceful and sustainable world through personal and social transformation. A frequent speaker at world events, she carries a powerful personal story of forgiveness from her childhood in Colombia. She currently lives in Munich, Germany. Part of her work is to encourage young people to expand their consciousness, as well as become young peace builders in their own respective countries.
James R. Doty, M.D., Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford, whose founding patron was the Dalai Lama. Jim lectures world-wide on the scientific basis of compassion and its importance in leading a full and meaningful life. An inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, he supports various international peace initiatives and programs to improve medical care to third world countries. He Chairs the Dalai Lama Foundation and supports various international peace initiatives.
Richard A. (Dick ) Ehst, President and Chief Operating Officer of Customers Bank. A former Executive V-P of Sovereign Bank, Dick had been an independent consultant to more than 70 financial institutions in the mid-Atlantic region. Educated in Europe and the U.S., he served as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War. He is an Honored Member of Who’s Who Worldwide and has been the recipient of community service awards from more than 20 civic organizations over the past 30 years. Dick’s passion is his family, economic development and mentoring and a lifetime commitment to overcoming prejudice.
Dr. Noor Gillani: A retired Principal Research Scientist at the National Space Science and Technology Center affiliated with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville AL. He is now focusing on further development of his PYAR Foundation which aims to help the cause of the world’s children in distress.
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield: Acclaimed author, lecturer, rabbi and commentator on religion, society and pop culture, offers a unique perspective on the American spiritual landscape and political and social trends to audiences nationwide. His blogs appear in outlets from Fox to Beliefnet. His book, You Don’t Have to be Wrong for Me To Be Right, aptly describes his active engagement and commitment to constructive dialogue with everyone.
Dr. Stuart A. Kauffman: MacArthur Prize winner, frequent contributor to NPR’s blog Cosmos and Culture, is a pioneer in the field of complexity theory. A biologist, trained as a medical doctor, who studies the origins of life and the origins of molecular organization, his most recent book, Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion redefines God as the natural creativity in the universe itself, proposes a novel metaphysics.
Rabbi Irwin Kula: As Co-President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, he received the 2008 Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award for his work "toward equality, liberty and a truly interreligious community." Fast Company magazine and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (PBS) both named him one of the leaders shaping the American spiritual landscape and he was listed three years in a row in Newsweek as one of the Top 10 of the "Top 50 Rabbis in America."
Dr. Nina Lynn Meyerhof, Ed.D., President and Founder of Children of the Earth, has made a life of advocating for children and youth. Long recognized as an innovative educator committed to global responsibility through authentic learning, she authored Conscious Education: The Bridge to Freedom. Recipient of several awards including The Mother Theresa Award among others, Nina continues to travel and work in 50 countries assembling adults and young people to build programs for peace recognizing our spiritual unity and scientific knowledge that we are all interconnected, as reflected in her World Spirit Youth Council.
R. Gustav Niebuhr
Director of the Religion and Society Program, Syracuse University. Writing for The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and the Atlanta Journal/Constitution, Gustav has established a reputation as a leading writer about American religion. His work has been published in books, magazines and on the internet; he also does occasional commentaries on religion for the National Public Radio program All Things Considered. His latest book is Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America.
Iyafin Amibelle Olatunji: African American Matriarch and widow of Babatunde Olatunji, Iya is a pioneer in African American education, dance, music and, the arts; and a tireless worker for peace and justice. Born in Alabama, Iya studied at Talladega College 60 years ago and received her degree in Library Science from Syracuse University in 1954.
Carlos Portes, Chairman, The Portes Group. Reflecting on his life’s journey as a manifestation of God’s greatest purpose, Carlos’s arrival in the U.S. from Cuba, alone as a 10 yr. old, as part of the largest airlift of children ever conducted (Operation Peter Pan), has served to inspire his continued crusade to serve others and give back. A recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, appointed Special Ambassador for Latin American Affairs by fmr. President Carter, he has worked with U.S. Presidents on major domestic and foreign policy issues including Cuba. As Chair of the Red Cross, Greater NY, MAO, he worked at Ground Zero assisting Latino families, including those without a voice and reuniting children in foreign countries with their surviving parent and helped shape the services to the Chinese Community. Serving the underserved and Conflict Resolution are among his greatest passions.
Diane Schenandoah: renowned Native American Sculptress, Wolf Clan faith keeper, Diane shares her spirit and traditional teachings through her artwork and her stories. She brings a powerful, loving presence to all her endeavors and also sings backup for her Grammy award winning sister, Joanne.
Dr. Naresh Singh: One of the world’s foremost experts on and advocates for sustainable livelihoods, Naresh now serves as Director General of Strategic Planning and Operations of (CPB) at CIDA. He was Executive Director of the U.N. Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (2006 to 2008) co-chaired by Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto and hosted by UNDP; and UNDP’s top poverty advisor.
Asma T. Uddin is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of altmuslimah.com. Asma is also a Legal Fellow with the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) and an international law attorney with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. She edited Dr. Umar F. Abd-Allah's A Muslim in Victorian America and serves as Associate Editor for Islamica Magazine, where she focuses on how American Muslims can rethink their social position within the American legal framework. Asma also contributes to OnFaith, Huffington Post, CNN.com and Common Ground News. Her more scholarly work has been published by Cambridge University Press and the Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion.